Jiraia
Tobita Danzo (鳶田 段蔵, Tobita Danzou), more commonly known as Jiraia the Spider (蜘蛛手の地雷亜), was born into a samurai clan and was a prodigy in the ninja arts. He was formerly a member of the Oniwabanshuu working under the Shogun before he was exiled. He was the founder and former leader of the Hyakka, former leader of the Red Spiders (Benigumoto) and Tsukuyo's master. He is the main antagonist of the Red Spider Arc. Background Tobita Danzo was born to a country samurai in Iga, and mastered ninja techniques at a very young age. His natural aptitude had people calling him a prodigy. The samurai in Iga were fighting year round, and the Tobita family was one of the larger families in Iga, so with a talented son like him in line to take over, his families' foes weren't just going to stand by idly. All of his family was wiped out, save for himself and his younger sister, who was taken hostage by the enemy in order to gain Danzo's cooperation and obedience. His sister, unable to stand seeing her brother pushing himself for her sake, committed suicide in order to allow him to live freely. Later on, while working for the former Shogun, he burned his own face in order to work undercover. He would sacrifice his own body to perform any dirty and dangerous job. His devotion was his only motivation, and it struck fear into anyone around him. He abandoned his face, his name and his very existence for the sake of being able to change identities at will. 20 years before present day, when the Amanto invaded, the Bakufu and Shogun were terrified and cracked in no time.However, the Oniwabanshuu didn't. A clan called The Hawks said that this was the time to fight and show their skills, while the moderates said that they should accept the decision from the higher-ups. And thus, they had a factional dispute on their hands. The Hawks became a nuisance to the Shogun, and Jiraia was ordered to erase them all from history, even though they were his comrades. He completed his task with ease, but when sitting infront of the Shogun himself,he suddenly attacked in an attempt to assassinate him and make history change its course. However, Zenzou's Father was acting as a duplicate the whole time. They fought, and he injured Zenzou's Father's legs. By killing his own comrades, Jiraia's position among the Oniwabanshuu had been tarnished. Surrounded by the Oniwaban, he still managed to escape, despite receiving critical injuries. Jiraia was the monster the Oniwaban failed to eliminate and let loose into the world, as stated by Zenzou in Episode 179. After this incident, he somehow managed to end up in Yoshiwara, where he became the original head of the Hyakka and Tsukuyo's master. He taught Tsukuyo everything he knew, and made her abandon her life as a woman in order to become strong and able to protect what she believes in. He trained her from a young age to create a hardened warrior, and as a final lesson, four years before present time he pretended to sacrifice himself and die in a major fire in Yoshiwara, protecting Tsukuyo, as stated by Hinowa in Episode 178. Appearance He had black shaggy hair and wore a dark colored hakama and haori. His most notable feature was his horribly burnt face and his large bulging eyes. He could conceal his face using a special face-mask. Personality At a young age, his family were all wiped out by other samurai, and he felt ashamed of his skills that had kept him alive, while everyone else was killed. Holding his sister hostage, the enemy, the ones who had also wiped out his family, forced him to obey them and work as their underling. This gave birth to Jiraia's twisted sense of devotion, and led him to literally sacrifice his sense of self in devotion to his work. This was his escape from the hatred, sorrow and shame of serving the ones who exterminated his family. He forgot his identity and focused on mechanically carrying out mission after mission. In present day, he was still haunted by the fact that he couldn't protect his sister, who wanted her brother to live freely and therefore committed suicide. In Episode 180, Zenzou thought that this was the reason Jiraia wanted to die in the worst possible way; to become the enemy of his own beloved student and die by her hands, as a self-inflicted punishment for failing to protect his sister. However, this was quickly disapproved by Jiraia himself, who said that the reason was that he was just scared of losing anything else, a coward who was too scared to bear the burden. He then said that the reason he taught Tsukuyo was that she wanted to protect Yoshiwara and Hinowa, and tried to shoulder everything on her small back. He didn't want her to get hurt like he was. He continued that in the end, he was scared of losing someone else again, and that he wasn't protecting her or his sister, but only himself. And he grew tired of himself. He then apologized to Tsukuyo for forcing her to shoulder a worthless burden. Strength & Abilities Being born in the Tobita family, he mastered ninja techniques at a very young age and was known to be a prodigy. His choice of weapon were wired kunais, which could be used to trap his enemies and as a means of levitation. His disfigured, burnt face allows him to disguise himself easily with any face he needs. Relationships Family *'Danzo's sister': After the fall of the Tobita clan, the only survivors were Jiraia and his sister. The enemies took his sister as hostage, and therefore Jiraia had to submit to his enemies and use him as a weapon. His sister couldn't bear to watch this and committed suicide so he could be free of this burden. Jiraia's guilt over the death of his beloved sister further twisted his mind. Students *'Tsukuyo': Jiraia's beloved student, Tsukuyo has similarities to his sister. Tsukuyo met Jiraia with the intention of becoming his student so she can protect Hinowa and Yoshiwara. Her strong desire to carry such a heavy burden on her young shoulders aroused his interest in her, making him agree to her request. Jiraia taught her everything he knew and was drawn to her. With time, however, he became aware that Tsukuyo was different from him. After his supposed death, she found comrades, a family and a home to protect, walking an entirely different path than her master. In his fear of losing Tsukuyo, Jiraia stepped back into her life as an enemy with the intention to destroy everything she loved, hoping that Tsukuyo would walk the same path as him again. It wasn't until he was fatally wounded by Tsukuyo that he revealed his true intentions to her, enjoying his last breath as he died in her arms. Acquaintance *'Zenzou's Father': Jiraia's former boss when he was working under Oniwabanshu. When the 13th Shogun becomes his target, Zenzou's father acted as a double and fought against Jiraia. With his legs injured, he was forced to retire and train the next generation though Zenzou claims that he maybe tired of the dirty business. *'Hattori Zenzou': Jiraia met Zenzou once before and knows him to be his boss's son. Zenzou told Gintoki that it was his responsibility to carry his father burden to track down the traitor. When Jiraia was dying, he asked if he's here for revenge for his comrades and his father. Zenzou claims he lost interest in revenge when he learned about Jiraia's past. Enemies *'Sakata Gintoki': ]]He tried to kill Gintoki as he knew that Tsukuyo had fallen in love with him. He used Gintoki in order to coerce Tsukuyo to kill him. *'Tokugawa Sada Sada': He was devoted to Sada Sada to the point where he would burn his face for the sake of his mission. He tried to assassinate Sada Sada after he completed his mission in killing the Hawk Clan. Story Red Spider Arc In present day, he made his first appearance in the anime in Episode 177,after Hosen's death and Yoshiwara's liberation. He seemingly resurfaced in order to become the next King of the Night by dominating the drug selling business, but it was later found out that he only did it to get Tsukuyo's attention and sway her back on the "right path", as he believed she had failed him when relying on Sakata Gintoki and the Yorozuya. He trapped Tsukuyo and Gintoki, who were following his trail, badly injured Gintoki and abducted Tsukuyo. Gintoki was rescued by Zenzou, who knew all about Jiraia, since he was originally with the Oniwabanshuu. Having captured Tsukuyo, Jiraia tried to create another fire in Yoshiwara, this time to burn the whole city down right in front of her. However, the Hyakka and the Yorozuya managed to cut the strings which he inflamed and used to start the fire, and thereby saving Yoshiwara. Gintoki followed the strings back to Jiraia's place, and saved Tsukuyo after a large battle with him. Jiraia was then confronted by Zenzou, who had previously been busy protecting Hinowa from a gang of thugs. Zenzou retold Jiraia's past, before Jiraia apologized to Tsukuyo for having her shoulder such a worthless burden. She then picked him up and carried him outside to show him the moon, before he dies. Battles Trivia *His real name, Danzo, most likely comes from Katou Danzou,a 16th-century ninja who was known for his supposed ability to fly, among others, similar to how Jiraia appears to be flying when standing on his threads. *His nickname, Jiraia, poissibly refers to Jiraiya, a fictional ninja and protagonist of "The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya" (児雷也豪傑物語, Jiraiya Gouketsu Monogatari), who is a master of shapeshifting, similar to how Jiraia is known for changing his appearance. References Category:Characters Category:Human Category:Male Characters Category:Ninja Category:Deceased Characters Category:Former Antagonists Category:Mentors Category:Antagonists